Historical Dramas - AD 1600 - 1700
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- CreatorRonan BennettKit HaringtonDaniel WestStarsKit HaringtonLiv TylerEdward HolcroftRobert Catesby leads Guy Fawkes a group of English Catholic traitors plan to blow up the Palace Of Westminster and kill King James I in the infamous Gunpowder Plot.1603-1605
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.1607-1617
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...1610-1612
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsUgo CardeaAnne PouchieClaude BerthyThis made for television film chronicles the illustrious life of French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650)1614-1641
- StarsNaomi BattrickMax BeesleyClaire CoxA drama about English settlers in America in 1617.1619-?? (ongoing)
- DirectorNelo RisiStarsHelmut BergerVittorio CaprioliFrancisco Rabal1630
- CreatorAdrian HodgesStarsLuke PasqualinoTom BurkeSantiago CabreraSet on the streets of 17th-century Paris, "The Musketeers" gives a contemporary take on the classic story about a group of highly trained soldiers and bodyguards assigned to protect King and country.1630-1643
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAndrew GarfieldAdam DriverLiam NeesonIn the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.1633-1682
- DirectorSergio RubiniStarsSergio RubiniGiovanna MezzogiornoCarlo MucariOn September 2nd, 1636, Porzia Maria Colonna leaves the Atri Convent. She has to reach her betrothed and she is escorted as the hazards are many. In fact, after a bandit assault, the survivors are only three: Porzia, a Captain and Bortolo, a groom. Later the captain too is killed. Porzia and Bortolo begin then an adventurous journey, a journey not only in a dangerous and unknown territory, but also a journey into their respective ways of thinking and conceiving life. A journey which will take them so close by, that at the end, Porzia will ask Bortolo to go with him. Bortolo will refuse, aware of the impossibility of the thing in the society of the time. The seeds of knowledge, however, spread during the long journey will bear fruits.1636
- DirectorHan-min KimStarsPark Hae-ilRyu Seung-ryongKim Mu-yeolA skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.1636-1637 (aka "War of the Arrows"")
- DirectorHenri HelmanStarsJacques PerrinPierre BoulangerStéphan Guérin-TilliéIn the Kingdom of France from 1640 is the old with his body ailing Cardinal Richelieu, powerful man under Louis XIII, faced with the machinations of his tipped designated successor, the Marquis de Cinq-Mars.1638-1642
- CreatorMartine BrantPeter FlanneryStarsAndrea RiseboroughDominic WestTom Goodman-HillDrama charts the progress of the English Civil War through the story of a young woman, the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and her three husbands.1638-1664
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsPierre ArditiRita ForzanoGiuseppe AddobbatiBlaise Pascal struggles to understand the natural world around him, in addition to an inner quest for religious faith.1639-1662
- DirectorMarc RivièreStarsPhilippe TorretonAlessandra MartinesMarc CittiWith France's prime minister Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII dead, the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin and the Spanish-born Queen Anne struggle to establish a regency to rule France in the name of the five-year-old Louis XIV.1642-1661
- DirectorMichael ReevesStarsVincent PriceIan OgilvyRupert DaviesA young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.1645
- DirectorLaurent TirardStarsRomain DurisFabrice LuchiniLaura MoranteTo satisfy his creditors, a witty actor reinvents himself as a satirical playwright, with uproarious, yet bittersweet, results.1645-1658
- DirectorAngelo AntonucciStarsAnna AmmiratiSergio AssisiCristina CasaleThe film is based upon the true and tragic events, which took place in Naples in July 1647. The historical background are the misgovernment and fiscal oppression having aroused much discontent throughout the two Sicilies, at that time viceroyalty of the Spanish Kingdom. The population of Naples, exploited by the greedy viceroy, the Duke D'Arcos, lives in deepest misery and without any hope of altering their destiny until the appearance of Masaniello, an Amalfi fisherman, young, handsome and courageous. With the help of his friends and allies, known in jail he becomes the leader of the Neapolitan citizens during a violent riot beginning in the 7th of July at the city gates between the fruit-vendors of the environs and the customs officers. But the glimpse of radical change will not last for long. Through intrigues, corruption, blackmail and personal sorrow for his beloved Bernardina Masaniello will become rapidly insane. He is murdered 10 days after the outbreak of the riot while haranguing a mob on the market-place on the 16th of July 1647.1647
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsTim RothDougray ScottOlivia WilliamsA recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.1647-1661
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsJulian BarrattPeter FerdinandoRichard GloverAmid the Civil War in 17th-century England, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men are forced to help him search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.1648
- DirectorRoger PlanchonStarsCarmen MauraMaxime MansionPaolo GraziosiThe title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent period, when the Louvre (meaning 'wolves hunt castle', hunting was a major aristocratic pastime), then still the somewhat gloomy royal palace, was the battle field of palace intrigues while the regency was held by queen-mother Anne of Austria but the actual head of the royal government was the aging cardinal Giulio Mazirini ('Mazarin'), the less-known Italian successor of Richelieu, who also introduced to the court and the kingdom a host of his countrymen from whom Louis would learn the passion for Italian culture, especially music which would flourish under the direction of Lully (but that later story is another movie, "Le Roi danse"). The elaborate script sketches the story of French power politics, too complicate and devious to summarize in any detail, but mainly from the viewpoint of the immature king under maternal guardianship, who probably didn't comprehend half of the grave troubles focusing on the strife between the official Catholic church and those claiming freedom of religion, especially for the Huguenots, but in reality mainly driven by personal and family ambitions and the grip of nobles on the kingdom at the expense of the royal power, and climaxing in a full rebellion, known as the Fronde, which forces the royal family to flee for their lives, an experience that may have decided Louis to dedicate his reign to preventing a repeat by establishing absolutism as he did. Some narration is done by Louis's younger brother Philip, the duke of Anjou, who seems smarter but as the spare heir is condemned to life in a golden cage, overshadowed by Louis while any 'disrespect' for his crowned sibling is punishable on the spot by strap lashes administered on his bare behind by a servant.1649-1653
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.1650
- DirectorVéra BelmontStarsSophie MarceauBernard GiraudeauLambert WilsonThe rise and fall of a beauteous actress. She rises from an impoverished background to become a favorite of the Sun King, Louis XIV.1653-1668
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsBenoît MagimelBoris TerralTchéky KaryoCorbiau repeats the Farinelli formula, artistic rivalry and social private drama expressed in dazzling, sometimes excessively lavish baroque scenery, music and costume, but this time in its ultimate setting: Versailles. There are two protagonists - first the title character, Louis XIV, the French sun-king who has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer (like Nero wrote and performed musical poetry), and starts asserting himself against the entourage of his Medici mother, the regent during his minority, by building his palace complex and launching a 'fitting' new, mainly musical display of baroque show. Secondly the musical genius Gianbattista Lulli ('Jean-Baptiste') Lully, a Florentine upstart of unbridled ambition, quickly gains the king's absolute trust, despite the nationalist and aristocratic opposition to a low-born Italian, and thus turns the normally socially humble post of court composer into a 'ministerial portfolio of culture' of Cabinet rank, complete with a monopoly which kills of his artistic rivals in operatic theater. The script also weaves a complex web of court scheming for individual power and social interests, and even a sadistic but accidental murder on a young valet, producing a sensuous and sumptuous drama too complex for this format, ending in a freakish but fatal accident. Louis XIV's mother was Ana de Austria (in French, Anne d' Autriche), the daughter of one of the Hapsburgh Kings of Spain. Maria di Medici (in French, Marie de Médicis) was his grandmother, his father's mother. She was dead before Louis XIV reached the throne. Please correct the reference to "his Medici mother"1653-1671
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsSophie MarceauPhilippe NoiretClaude RichFrance, 1654: D'Artagnan's girl grows up in a convent. When the mother superior is murdered, Eloïse suspects a plan to murder the king and hopes to prevent this and revenge the murder by finding her father and the 3 musketeers.1654
- StarsRufus SewellRupert GravesCharlie Creed-MilesThe chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his ten-year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.1658-1685
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsBilly CrudupClaire DanesRupert EverettA female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desdemona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?1660-1661
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsJean-Marie PatteRaymond JourdanCésar SilvagniAfter the death of Cardinal Mazarin, young king Louis XIV decides to assert his power to control the aristocracy.1661
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsRobert Downey Jr.Sam NeillDavid ThewlisThe exiled royal doctor to King Charles II devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman.1663-1666
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.1665
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsDemi MooreGary OldmanRobert DuvallAn affair between a young woman and a pastor has disastrous consequences.1666-1671
- CreatorSimon MirrenDavid WolstencroftStarsGeorge BlagdenAlexander VlahosTygh RunyanIn 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.1667-1676
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsGeena DavisMatthew ModineFrank LangellaA female pirate and her companion race against their rivals to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure.1668
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsGérard DepardieuUma ThurmanTim RothVatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favor. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty come into conflict.1671
- StarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJohn StandingThe lives of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, and his wife Sarah.1673-1714
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJames VilliersJohn Churchill is an able soldier who has proved himself on many occasions and is a favorite of Kings on both sides of the English Channel. He quickly became a senior officer, based on his skill and not his aristocratic background. He was also a ladies man having affairs with several aristocratic ladies including King Charles II's mistress, the Duchess of Cleveland. At a ball he first meets Sarah Jennings, a pretty young girl who has the good fortune of having the support of Mary, the second Duchess of York. He's immediately taken with her but she doesn't reciprocate. She does however show a spirit that Churchill much admires.1673-1675
- DirectorLaurence DunmoreStarsJohnny DeppSamantha MortonJohn MalkovichThe story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.1675-1680
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJames VilliersJohn Churchill pursues the young Sarah Jennings but she is convinced they can have no future together. Sarah is poor, much as Churchill is, and her mother is convinced that Churchill's father will arrange a marriage for his son only with a rich woman. John has no intention of marrying for convenience and has every intention of marrying for love. He stands his ground, as does Sarah, but Duchess of York becomes a good friend indeed when she eases the way for them. Meanwhile, there is much intrigue going at court with certain lords demanding that no Catholics be counselors to the King. As well, the Duke and Duchhess of York arrange for the marriage of their daughter, Mary, to William of Orange. She has a most peculiar reaction when she first sets eyes on her intended.1677
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJames VilliersJohn is promoted to Brigadier and much to Sarah's dismay, is off to Holland. There is much intrigue at court with Titus Oates telling King Charles II there is a Jesuit plot to have him killed and install a Catholic King on the throne. There are plotters on all sides however, with others out to discredit the King's brother, the Duke of York and the Earl of Danby, Lord Treasurer. Lord Shaftsbury urges the King to either divorce his wife an remarry in order to producer a Protestant heir or recognize his illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, as his legitimate heir. The King refuses both requests but does ask his brother and heir James, Duke of York to leave the Catholic church in favor of the Church of England. He refuses to do so. Sidney Godolphin is the father of a new son but his wife Meg dies in childbirth.1678-1679
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJames VilliersKing Charles II knows that many of the Lords are plotting against him and moves to take control of the situation. He relocates temporarily to Oxford forcing Parliament to move there as well. He then dissolves that institution but doesn't call elections. He also orders his brother and heir James, the Duke of York, to leave temporarily and relocate to Scotland. Churchill and Godolphin accompanies him but James proves to be difficult and cruel towards the people. Sarah Churchill is going to have a child, much to everyone's delight, though she doesn't necessarily look forward to having her mother stay with her during her lying-in. She also continues her close friendship with Princess Anne, James second daughter, who is to be married to Prince George of Denmark. Anne names her a Lady of the Bedchamber, with a stipend of £200 per year.1679-1683
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJason Scott LeeEsai MoralesSandrine HoltLove between the representatives of two warring tribes changes the balance of power on the whole remote island.1680
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.1682-1685
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireJames VilliersKing Charles II suddenly falls ill and dies within a few days. He converts to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed and his brother James becomes King. The new King, a Roman Catholic, manages to calm all fears by expressing his undying support and protection of the Church of England, despite his personal beliefs. He writes to his son-in-law the Prince of Orange and asks him to expel from the Netherlands the Duke of Monmouth, the late King's illegitimate son who has his own aspirations to the throne. The new King also names Churchill a Baron of the English peerage. Monmouth lands in Dorset and proclaims his uncle James to be a Papist and a false King. He begins recruiting an army and with several of his supporters, declares war. King James II asks Churchill to lead an army against his nephew but decides to put someone in command above him when he is reminded that Churchill and Monmouth were once close friends. Brilliant General that he is, Churchill defeats him leaving Monmouth to beg King James and Queen Mary to spare his life. Sarah Churchill and Princess Anne continue their close friendship with the somewhat older Sarah taken to giving the young princess advice, which is generally well received.1685
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireMargaret TyzackOver time, King James II is not living up to his promise to protect the Protestant faith, at least in the eyes of may of his people. He has surrounded himself with Catholic advisers and has asked Parliament to repeal legislation forbidding Catholic appointments to his Privy Council. When the Queen gives birth to a son - many believe her child died at birth and was substituted with another - several members of the House of Lords invite Prince William of Orange, who is married to King James II's eldest daughter Mary, to come to England and assume the throne. King James II soon realizes that he must flee to France when Churchill and many others go to the Protestant side. In offering the throne to William and Mary, Parliament also agrees that William will be King for his lifetime, even if the Queen should predecease him. The royal court is soon filled with Dutch advisers, much to the consternation of those English Lords who supported the new monarchs. Sarah Churchill meanwhile continues to hold favor with Princess Anne, now next in line to the throne1685-1689
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireMargaret TyzackKing James II travels to Catholic Ireland where he is welcomed by the population, with the exception of a few Protestant dominated communities. It is clear that he will push his claim to the throne from there and possibly invade England. King William dispatches Churchill, now the Earl of Marlborough, to Ireland but places a Dutch aristocrat with little military experience above him. Churchill and others are growing weary of being subservient to the King's Dutch cronies and begin to make their objections known. The new Queen also begins to assert her power and orders her sister, Princess Anne, to terminate her relationship with Sarah Churchill. When the Princess refuses to do so, the King takes swift action, canceling all of the Churchills' military and civil appointments and orders the them banished from the Royal Court. The Princess proves to be a loyal friend however, refusing to abandon Sarah and John and inviting her to join them in living elsewhere.1689-1692
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsDaniel Day-LewisWinona RyderPaul ScofieldA Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.1692
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireMargaret TyzackWith King William III away commanding his armies, Queen Mary II is left in charge of the affairs of State. She visits her sister Princess Anne who has recently lost her newborn son and again demands that Sarah Churchill be banished. The Princess flatly refuses and the Queen storms out of what would prove to be their final meeting. The Queen continues her machinations against the Churchills and conspires to have documents forged implicating John Churchill in treason. He is soon arrested but fortunately still has friends who support him and realize that he is innocent. Those friends will also become victims of the Queen's wrath. She falls seriously ill however.1692-1695
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsAnthony HigginsJanet SuzmanAnne-Louise LambertA young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.1694
- DirectorDavid GilesStarsJohn NevilleSusan HampshireMargaret TyzackWith the death of Queen Mary II, King William III is now the sole monarch as per the original agreement they had made when invited to occupy the throne. A reconciliation process begins when he invites Princess Anne to a ball. There he makes it clear that there is no love lost between them but that the protection of the Protestant faith is paramount and they must prepare for her eventual succession and that of her 7 year-old son. Sarah Churchill also attend the ball but notes that husband John will not attend until he is summoned personally by the King. The Churchill children are happily married now and producing grandchildren much to the elder Churchills delight. Worried by the Spanish succession and the possibility of yet another European war, King William III summons Churchill and finding that they are of the same mind on the issue, he reinstates him as a Privy Councillor, restores his military rank as well as all titles and privileges at the Royal Court. On William III's death in 1702, Princess Anne ascends to the throne.1695-1702